Streaming television – very useful for all sorts of reasons, not least for being able to “Skip Intro”. When I binge-watch a series, I get so sick of seeing the opening credits and listening to the same music at the beginning of each episode, because theme tunes are mostly mediocre, I automatically press to skip the intro and get straight into the story.
But every now and then there is an exception. And when that happens it is gold!
Very occasionally, an opening sequence comes along that combines theme tune and imagery to epitomise the mood of the drama to come and make the viewer hungry for more. The song is strong enough to stand on its own merits and good enough to listen to even without the visual. The dramas that tend to get it right, are usually excellent to start with – the theme tune is simply the icing on the cake.
The first time this happened for me in recent years was with the gangster drama Peaky Blinders, originally shown on the BBC and subsequently around the world on Netflix. The tale of the charismatic Romany gang leader, Tommy Shelby, and his brothers, who sew razor blades into the peaks of their caps and control post WW I Birmingham with violence and, in Tommy’s case, ambition and cunning, is exceptional in so many respects.
Irish actor Cillian Murphy is mesmerizing as Tommy Shelby. His chiselled face, set jaw and startlingly blue eyes convey a steely blankness as he mentally distances himself from the violence he deems necessary to create a monopoly for illegal betting and protectionism in the town.
The swaggering style of the Shelby brothers with their three-piece tweed suits, “newsboy caps” and, sharp haircuts spawned a whole new fashion look for men. Customers began asking their barbers for the “peaky blinders haircut” (short back and sides with slicked back, longer hair on top) and wearing tweeds and caps.
In the opening sequence, Tommy Shelby rides bareback through the darkened, grimy, streets on a jet-black horse, as women and children emerge from ramshackle houses to stare after him. He rides past the labourers and the tradesmen, past the blind beggars and the street preacher and past two bobbies on the beat who tip their hats and greet him with “Mornin’ Mr Shelby”. His elevated position on the horse sets him physically above them all and emphasises his control over the city.
As he passes the gloomy canal and warehouses, smoke rises, steam belches and sparks fly from the forges as the eerie soundtrack features a repeating background beat with a clang on a pipe and an echoing drum that seem to mimic this murky, industrial world.
The song is “Red Right Hand” by Australian band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and it would be hard to imagine a better theme-tune for the series, so redolent is it of the lead character. The lyrics talk of a shadowy and mysterious man who stalks the land and inspires fear and awe in equal measure:
“On a gatherin’ storm comes a
Tall handsome man
In a dusty black coat
With a red right hand”
Nick Cave’s mesmeric voice moves into threatening at times and has the power to send shivers down my spine. So, I was surprised to learn that the song wasn’t written for the show at all and was released by the band back in 1994, years before Peaky Blinders aired on TV.
Series writer, Steven Knight originally planned to use the song only once, in the show’s first episode, but changed his mind when he realised just how perfect the lyrics were to describe the characters and the plot. I’m so glad. I had never heard it before, so it is indelibly connected in my mind with the atmospheric opening credits of the TV series and I cant hear it without getting that spine chilling feeling of dread. Perfect!
A newer find is Slow Horses, the intriguing spy drama from Apple TV. The series follows a raggle-taggle team of failed MI5 agents who have been banished to operate from the notorious Slough House under their slovenly and objectionable boss, Jackson Lamb, played brilliantly by Gary Oldman.
When my husband and I first watched it, I instantly liked the striking theme tune that runs over the opening credits. I knew there was something familiar about the singer’s voice but couldn’t quite put my finger on who it was. Then my husband suddenly said
“I think it’s Mick Jagger”
“Surely not?” I said “He wouldn’t do a song for an unknown TV series would he? Maybe they’ve used an existing Stone’s song, although I don’t recognise it”
I immediately went to Google and discovered that the singer was indeed Mick Jagger. My interest piqued, I wanted to find out more. It transpires that when composer Daniel Pemberton and director James Hawes were discussing the theme tune, they agreed they wanted a vocalist. Hawes said Mick Jagger would be ideal. Pemberton laughed and said
“Forget it! There’s no way we’ll ever get Mick Jagger”
But to their surprise and delight, an approach to Jagger worked. He wrote the song “Strange Game” alongside Pemberton, especially for the series and sings it over the credits. To echo the dysfunctional nature of the team of spooks, the music is discordant and jangly with Jagger adopting his best mockney accent to wail over it. Excellent!
Most recently, the song I am smitten by, is the theme tune from The Sopranos. Yes, believe it or not, I never got round to watching the iconic story of New Jersey Mafia boss Tony Soprano when it came out in 1999, despite the fact that it is consistently rated as one of the best TV series ever.
I am working my way through the box set and loving it. What a fascinating character Tony Soprano is. I have become completely engrossed in the tale of how he tries to balance his criminal lifestyle with his personal life and confides some of his darkest thoughts to psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi.
Yet again, the opening credits are, to my mind, superb. The shots of Soprano driving to his home through the New Jersey Turnpike and the streets of his neighbourhood gives a sense of the setting for the drama and, most importantly, playing over them is the song “Woke Up This Morning” by the band Alabama 3.
The lyrics are a perfect description of how Soprano lives his life and I assumed the song was written specifically for the series. But no: the track was released by the band as part of their first album in 1997. Even more surprising, given their name, the drama’s setting and the story, is that the band are British – and pretty wacky! As they say on their website,
“Were Not from Alabama and there’s not three of us.”
The nine-piece band hail from Brixton and Soprano’s creator, David Chase heard “Woke up this morning” on the radio when he was preparing the show for its first series in 1999 and decided he had to have it, so perfect was it for the show. What a happy accident!
My husband and I became so intrigued by Alabama 3 that he has been listening to more of their music and really liking it. I suggested if they were playing live anywhere, we should go and see them. We went, on Thursday of this week to Boisdale Restaurant, in the Canary Wharf district of London.
It was a whole new experience: rather like in an old-fashioned night club, we sat at cabaret tables and had dinner before the show and then watched the band on the stage as they worked their way through a great repertoire, including, thank goodness, “Woke Up This Morning”.
It's pretty amazing really, that finally watching a series that is 25 years old, introduced us to a great song, by band we’d never heard of, and resulted in us having a great night out at a venue that’s new to us, but that we shall certainly be going back to.
So, my motto is: always listen once. If you automatically skip the intro – you might just miss a great song and you never know, if it’s really great, it might even change your life!
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Hi Kay, I hadn't ever watched or listened to The Musketeers - you prompted me to do so. I see what you mean about the music. I like it. How exciting to have Poldark being filmed on your doorstep and to be able to go down and watch it. We were I Cornwall when they were filming the prequel to Game of Thrones on St Michael's Mount. We sat there for hours watching the boats go back and forth to the island in the hope of seeing someone famous - but we never did..........
We binge watched the musketeers and I have just had to put the music from the beginning on my playlist. We are now on Poldark again which I will not be putting on 😂 I worked on the cliffs when poldark was being filmed and had so much fun. Everyone was running down to see Ross and Demelza and I was going down to meet the horses!!